Five Questions With...Ben Speas

By: Adam Jardy

The Columbus Dispatch - June 25, 2012 10:27 AM

Five questions with Crew homegrown player Ben Speas.

If you were not playing soccer, what would you be doing with your life?“I would be at school right now. I’d probably be something around soccer; an athletic
trainer, a physical therapist. I would like to do that. It’s a lot more school. Probably an
athletic trainer.”

Who are your favorite athletes outside of soccer?“I like basketball a lot. I’m pretty bad at it so I think it’s pretty amazing what they do. I
liked Michael Jordan when I was little because my brother loved Michael Jordan. I’d say I like
LeBron James a lot. He’s from Akron and St. Mary. I played them in high school – not LeBron, the
soccer team. I like LeBron. I don’t hate him. I’m glad he’s doing his thing. He didn’t look too
good last night but hopefully he can pull it out.”

Which do you prefer: music or movies?“Music, not too much. I like Coldplay and stuff like that, just chill. I like movies when I
have time to watch them. I like the crazy fights: Gladiator, Braveheart, those kinds of movies. And
then there’s some inspirational movies. I like documentaries too.”

What’s your favorite part of Columbus?“My cousin lives in Columbus so I’ve been hanging out with him and he’s been showing me some
stuff. Downtown is nice. It’s great. I went to Akron and downtown Columbus is a lot nicer and
bigger than Akron. Even Cleveland. Cleveland is big but I’d say Columbus is cleaner. It’s a nice
city and it’s fun to hang out in. German Village, the Short North, it’s pretty nice. I like it a
lot.

What’s been your favorite moment of your career?“Probably in a game it would be the last national championship. In terms of my career
probably my biggest achievement where I felt that I worked the most was obviously signing with the
Crew. That was my main goal so that was pretty huge for me. Second to that would probably be when I
was in the U.S. residency program. I was on the Ohio state team and had never gone to a national
camp and within seven months I was in residency so I worked my butt off for that. That meant a lot
to me and still does. Those are probably the two.”